Boom—
A clap of thunder exploded in the sky, briefly illuminating the dark night.
Soon, dense raindrops began to fall, drumming against the merchant ship.
On the deck, two figures stood in the rain.
As the scattered raindrops approached within a foot of the two individuals, they instantly evaporated.
“Young Master, we have now passed the near-shore boundary and entered the far-sea region. Coupled with this severe weather, I fear the winds and waves will grow increasingly violent. This small merchant ship will find it difficult to venture too far.”
Nong Yu’s face showed a hint of worry as she watched the ink-black sea surface, where giant waves several yards high periodically surged.
Although she was experienced in sea navigation and encountering bad weather was common, previous voyages had always been with merchant fleets and involved medium to large merchant ships.
This time, with only a small merchant ship, if any accident occurred, there would be no room for recovery. Therefore, even she couldn't help but feel some apprehension.
As for Wu Chuan, his face was filled with anxiety, and his heart was burning with impatience. If it weren't for Lin Sheng’s orders weighing on him, he would absolutely not have continued forward.
Lin Sheng did not speak, his gaze fixed on the sea surface.
At this moment, he could sense seven or eight schools of fish converging and swimming in the same direction.
His nostrils twitched, and he faintly caught a strange scent.
Although extremely subtle, he was certain of its existence.
Presumably, this was the scent emitted by the Nightglow Jellyfish swarm.
In fact, even without tracking the fish, he could now track the Nightglow Jellyfish simply by following this scent.
He closed his eyes and carefully sensed it.
With the Wind-Listening Hound, Big Yellow, integrated into his body, his olfactory perception was amplified to an extremely high degree, allowing him to roughly discern the source of the scent.
He glanced at Nong Yu and the nervous Wu Chuan and others behind him.
Only then did he speak faintly.
“You all wait here. Nong Yu, you will come with me.”
As he spoke, he whistled, and a black shadow swiftly descended from the ship's sail.
Lin Sheng grabbed Nong Yu, and with a light tap of his toe, he landed steadily on the black shadow’s back.
The black shadow was none other than Little Black.
For this sea voyage, to be safe, he had brought Little Black aboard the ship.
After all, even if they encountered any danger, having Little Black provided a way out.
Gently stroking Little Black’s tough feathers, Little Black rapidly disappeared above the sea, amidst the rolling thunder.
The sailors on the merchant ship watched the two people and one bird disappear, their gazes falling on Wu Chuan.
“Wu Chuan, what should we do?”
“What else can we do? Retreat five li, drop anchor, and wait.”
Wu Chuan cursed irritably.
But his heart was full of worry.
Although he had seen throughout this journey that Lin Sheng’s strength and methods were extraordinary, this was the sea, not land.
Moreover, powerful sea Yao Beasts could appear at any time in the ocean.
Especially in such severe weather, which was when some sea Yao Beasts were most active, even avian Spirit Beasts were merely prey in the eyes of many powerful Yao Beasts.
“Please, nothing bad must happen, otherwise things will become very serious…”
He muttered to himself, his gaze fixed on the sea.
Caw…
Above the sea, Little Black, following Lin Sheng’s indicated direction, darted through the thunderstorm.
He had already left all the fish schools beneath the surface far behind.
Nong Yu clutched Little Black’s feathers tightly, her face slightly pale.
“Young Master, some powerful sea Yao Beasts have a habit of hunting airborne birds. If we continue like this, there might be…”
She spoke softly, reminding him.
But before she could finish, a tentacle suddenly shot out from the sea, concealed by the sound of thunder, and darted towards Little Black in the sky like a bullet.
Its movement produced no sound of wind, making it difficult to detect.
Just as the tentacle approached, about to pierce and entangle Little Black,
A large hand reached out from Little Black’s back and seized the tentacle, which was as thick as a human thigh.
Finally, with an upward pull, a squid-like monster, seven to eight meters in size, was lifted from the sea.
Lin Sheng’s palm shook, and a powerful force surged into the tentacle.
The large squid immediately began to tremble violently, and soon, a large amount of blood spurted from its body. Its massive body tore into pieces, turning into a large mist of blood.
Nong Yu, witnessing this scene from Little Black’s back, paused mid-sentence.
She recognized the squid at a glance as a sea Yao Beast called the Three-Colored Squid.
Although not a high-level Spirit Beast, it was a top-tier existence among low-level Spirit Beasts. Its size seemed small among sea Yao Beasts, but it was extremely troublesome, especially because its body contained potent venom. Once it came into contact with a person, it would cause paralysis and loss of mobility. Moreover, its movements were quite secretive, silent, and it was highly skilled at sneak attacks.
Even a Martial Artist in the Bone Transformation Realm could capsize in the gutter if they were careless.
Suddenly, Nong Yu seemed to remember something, her eyes fixed on the sea below, and soon her expression changed.
The most troublesome aspect of the Three-Colored Squid was that it was a communal sea Yao Beast; most of the time, dozens of them hunted together.
Even a lone high-level Spirit Beast might not escape unharmed if it encountered a Three-Colored Squid swarm.
And the situation was exactly as she had thought: bubbles quickly rose from the sea, and soon, Three-Colored Squids emerged one by one from the surface, numbering as many as 20 at a glance.
Seeing this, Nong Yu’s expression immediately turned grim. A swarm of 20 Three-Colored Squids was considered a large sea Yao Beast swarm.
Even an ordinary high-level Spirit Beast, encountering a squid swarm of this size, would hardly escape being devoured.
“Quick, fly higher.”
She quickly urged, her voice filled with anxiety.
Lin Sheng’s eyes also flashed with a hint of surprise as he saw the Three-Colored Squids appearing one after another below.
He hadn't expected so many Three-Colored Squids to be hidden beneath the sea, and even with his perception, he only sensed the presence of the squid swarm after killing that one Three-Colored Squid.
“As expected of the Eastern Sea, the number of Vicious Beasts is far greater than on land.”
He couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
They had just left the near-shore area and already encountered a Spirit Beast swarm. The dangers in the ocean were indeed far greater than on land.
However, upon closer thought, this situation wasn't entirely true. After all, land was the primary living environment for humans.
As humanity grew stronger, they were bound to clear out the Vicious Beasts on land.
Presumably, in ancient times, the danger posed by Vicious Beasts on land was probably not much inferior to those in the sea. The current situation was also the result of years of clearing.
As he mused, his eyes instantly turned golden.
In an instant, the Three-Colored Squids surging from the sea surface seemed greatly startled, immediately scattering in panic, quickly descending into the sea, and disappearing as if fleeing.
Lin Sheng’s eyes instantly returned to normal, while Nong Yu, beside him, was completely shocked by this sudden turn of events.
She glanced at Lin Sheng and then quickly lowered her head.
For that brief moment, she felt as if the person sitting beside her was not a human, but a terrifying Vicious Beast.
Although that aura did not affect her directly, it still made all her hair stand on end, and she instinctively lost the courage to resist.
At this moment, she understood that this Young Master’s strength probably far exceeded her previous expectations.
“Alright, Little Black, speed up.”
Lin Sheng, now back to normal, gently patted Little Black, whose speed immediately increased by a few points.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Little Black had flown a hundred li away.
At this point, the strange fragrance had grown increasingly strong, clearly indicating that they were not far from their target.
The thunderstorm in the sky was now intensifying. Lin Sheng concentrated his vision, piercing through the great distance, and in the dark night, he already spotted tiny jade-like lights, like emerald lanterns floating on the sea surface.
As Little Black rapidly approached, it wasn't long before Nong Yu also noticed the light and immediately cried out in surprise.
“Nightglow Jellyfish swarm!!”
“Indeed…”
Lin Sheng narrowed his eyes. At this moment, the true appearance of those emerald lanterns was fully visible.
They were oval-shaped, disk-sized, glowing green jellyfish, with dozens of slender, translucent limbs beneath their bell-like crowns.
The sea around these Nightglow Jellyfish was a crimson red.
One could see sea fish swimming towards them like moths to a flame, only to be broken down and digested by the Nightglow Jellyfish.
Countless sea fish had already been devoured by the Nightglow Jellyfish.
Seeing this, Lin Sheng couldn't help but marvel.
Like the Three-Colored Squids before, these Nightglow Jellyfish were also low-level Spirit Beasts.
Although their individual strength was slightly inferior to the Three-Colored Squids, their population numbers were much larger.
At this moment, the Nightglow Jellyfish swarm on the sea surface numbered nearly fifty at a glance.
“Within each Nightglow Jellyfish swarm, there will be a female Jellyfish Queen. There is a high probability that she will attract Aurora Jellyfish. As long as we can find this Jellyfish Queen, we will know if there are any Aurora Jellyfish nearby.”
Looking at the spectacular sight of the Nightglow Jellyfish swarm below, Nong Yu explained softly from the side.
She knew Lin Sheng’s purpose for this trip was the Aurora Jellyfish, not these Nightglow Jellyfish.
“Mm.” Lin Sheng nodded. Before coming, Nong Yu had already told him about the techniques for finding Aurora Jellyfish.
“You just stay on Little Black. I’ll be back soon.”
After saying that, Lin Sheng leaped down from Little Black’s back, landing directly on the water surface.
Black Qi surged beneath his feet as he stood on the water, stepping towards the Nightglow Jellyfish swarm.
Apparently noticing Lin Sheng, the uninvited guest, as he approached, the Nightglow Jellyfish swarm emitted wisps of glowing green mist, surging towards Lin Sheng.
Like the Three-Colored Squids, Nightglow Jellyfish also contained paralyzing venom.
Their hunting method was simple: first, paralyze the prey with venom, then dismember and devour it.
However, this method, unfortunately, had no effect on Lin Sheng whatsoever.
Allowing the mist to envelop him, Lin Sheng tapped his toe and landed amidst the jellyfish swarm.
His hand shot out, instantly piercing two Nightglow Jellyfish. As his force moved, the two jellyfish directly shattered, splashing a large amount of dark green liquid.
Suddenly attacked, the entire Nightglow Jellyfish swarm seemed stimulated, surging towards Lin Sheng. A large expanse of mist enveloped the vast sea surface.
The translucent slender limbs, like sharp blades, twisted and slashed towards Lin Sheng, attempting to completely dismember and shred this suddenly appearing uninvited guest.
However, these slender limbs, when they landed on Lin Sheng, not only caused no damage, but the sharp limbs themselves shattered completely.
Lin Sheng’s hands reached out repeatedly; with each strike, two Nightglow Jellyfish shattered.
In just over ten breaths, more than ten Nightglow Jellyfish had perished in Lin Sheng’s hands.
Yet, despite such casualties, the Nightglow Jellyfish continued to charge madly, fearless of death, launching attacks again and again.
Lin Sheng couldn't help but sigh.
The Eastern Sea was indeed a good place. If he waited until the fifth ring mark was activated, the Eastern Sea would absolutely be the most suitable location.
The large number of Spirit Beasts was undoubtedly the best nourishment for activating the mark.
However, killing more of these Spirit Beasts now would serve no purpose.
Finally, after another dozen or so Nightglow Jellyfish died, the Nightglow Jellyfish suddenly stopped their attacks, as if receiving some command. They descended beneath the water surface, began to move rapidly in a certain direction, and simultaneously released a large amount of green mist to obscure vision.
“Finally, you can’t hold back anymore?”
Seeing this, a cold smile appeared on Lin Sheng’s face.
Clearly, the Nightglow Jellyfish Queen finally couldn't sit still and ordered a retreat.
These green mists indeed had a rather good interfering effect, but unfortunately, they were not very effective against his powerful perception.
Lin Sheng slowly followed behind these jellyfish.
The seemingly clumsy Nightglow Jellyfish, once submerged in the seawater, were extremely fast.
In just a few breaths, they had covered a distance of a thousand meters.
After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the Nightglow Jellyfish had swum dozens of li away, and their speed finally slowed down.
Lin Sheng stopped, and in his line of sight, a gigantic Nightglow Jellyfish, ten meters wide, slowly floated out of the seawater.
A rich fragrance emanated from its body.
“Jellyfish Queen?”
The moment he saw this massive creature, Lin Sheng already guessed its identity.
He frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping around it, but he did not find his target for this trip.
“None?”
He showed a look of disappointment.
Clearly, this Nightglow Jellyfish Queen had not attracted any Aurora Jellyfish, at least not yet.
“Hoo…”
Lin Sheng exhaled, feeling a bit annoyed. This trip to sea had wasted several days for nothing.
If he had to wait here for the Nightglow Jellyfish Queen to attract Aurora Jellyfish, he didn't know how long it would take, and he certainly didn't have that patience.
“Forget it, since I came out, I can’t come back empty-handed.”
He shook his head slightly and stepped towards the Jellyfish Queen.
Although the Nightglow Jellyfish was only a low-level Spirit Beast, this Nightglow Jellyfish Queen was a genuine high-level Spirit Beast. Since he encountered it, he naturally wouldn't let it go.
As he approached, the Nightglow Jellyfish Queen clearly noticed his presence.
Roar…
A barely audible, strange roar came from its mouth. The Nightglow Jellyfish that had gathered around immediately changed direction and rushed madly towards Lin Sheng.
Lin Sheng, however, had no interest in these Nightglow Jellyfish. His body leaped up, his toe tapping on a Nightglow Jellyfish, directly crushing its body. Then, his body shot towards the Nightglow Jellyfish Queen like a cannonball.
Pfft—
The Jellyfish Queen immediately spat out a thick, dark green viscous mist, which shot towards Lin Sheng like a compressed air gun.